


Excerpt From "The Care and Feeding of Tony Stark"

by Paraprosdokia (ChangeableConsistency)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, SleepFic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 09:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/608336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeableConsistency/pseuds/Paraprosdokia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For this part of the prompt: Oh and also in my head is Rhodey coming to visit and the team waking to find him and Tony cuddling on the couch.</p>
<p>Nothing sexual, just him wanting some human comfort.</p>
<p>Filled by an Anonymous Author at the link under "In Sleeping Company" Pepper; Clint/Natasha; Steve Thor; Bruce +Tony.</p>
<p>I added some Rhodey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [GEN or Any/Any +Tony. Tony cant sleep alone](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/14825) by peppony_fluff9. 



> I am a bit late to the Rhodey party and now feel like I have to give him extra love to make up for it.

"Tony. Tony. Tony. Earth to Tony Stark," Colonel James Rhodes snaps his fingers in front of Tony's face a couple times before the genius-brat (brat-genius?) blinks a couple times and looks up from the pile of electronics he had been staring at blankly, "There you are."

"Rhodey? Wha... What are you doing here?" Tony asks him, rubbing at his sunken eyes and blinking away spots, "You said you weren't going to make it until Thursday."

"It is Thursday, Tony," Rhodey says with an exasperated sigh.

Tony laughs, even though his throat feels like sand paper, "That? Is a horrible accusation and I won't stand for it."

"JARVIS?"

"Today is Thurs-"

"Traitor!"

"And I'll bet you've been working non-stop since Pepper flew out to L.A. and left you here all by lonesome?"

Tony huffs,"A) I don't need a babysitter, thank you very much; B) I have more roommates than I can count; and C) I was just going to finish-"

"Stow it. You smell like a teenager's bedroom. Go clean up and then meet me in the common room."

Tony rolls his eyes, "Fine. Fine. Just let me-"

James slams a hand down on the counter and leans into Tony's space, pulling the, Jesus, what looks like a boxing glove and an arrow's horrifying mutant baby, out of Tony's hands, "Now."

Years of command lace his tone; hell, he could teach Cap a thing or two. Tony shrugs like it doesn't matter, like Rhodey isn't rescuing him from himself (again), and sighs melodramatically, "Whatever, dude."

"You have thirty minutes."

The 'or else' in Rhodey's order is loud and clear, and Tony has seen enough of his best friend's 'or else's' over the years that he's pretty sure even the legendary Stark ego won't stand up to the others seeing the consequences of blowing him off.

Not to mention being manhandled fully clothed into a freezing shower isn't at the top of his monumental 'To Do' list.

"Phhhf. Yeah, yeah. I'm going. Put that down before you hurt someone. Or, more importantly, me." He throws off an intentionally sloppy salute as he heads towards his private elevator, "See you in thirty, Colonel Nanny. Sir!"


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty minutes, fifty nine seconds later Tony slouches into the common room. He refuses to admit that he feels better by at least a factor of twelve; a shower, shave, and fresh set of clothes making a world of difference.  
  
But it's also made him realize how bone-achingly tired he is. He hasn't been able to sleep for more than an hour or two at a stretch in _days_ , and if he wasn't so sure that it would have been a waste of time he would have crawled into bed.  
  
Besides, Rhodey would have been up to check on him, and would have pulled out lecture number three from his, "Care and Feeding of Tony Stark" series, and Tony just. Isn't. Up for it.  
  
He almost whimpers at the sight of Rhodey lounging on the sofa; jacket, tie, and shoes M.I.A. (probably all neatly put away in the coat closet, and isn't that just Rhodey all over); feet propped up on an ottoman; and T.V. tray piled high with little sandwich triangles and two glasses of milk, one only half full.  
  
Heh.  
  
Look at that.  
  
Half full and not half empty.  
  
What a difference a ~~friend~~ shower makes.  
  
"Tony."  
  
Shit. He was drifting off again.  
  
"Sorry. What?"  
  
"Sit," James orders, pointing to the couch next to him.  
  
Tony rolls his eyes again, crashing into Rhodey as he ~~flounces~~ _manfully flops_ onto the couch. He props his bare feet up next to Rhodey's, bypassing a snarky comment about the little airplanes on his socks in favor of making grabby hands at the sandwiches.  
  
"Awww, you even cut the crusts off!"  
  
Rhodey smiles, "Yeah, 's close to Nan's as I could make them. What kind of soulless bastard has grape jelly instead of jam?"  
  
Tony's mouth, having had two triangle's immediately shoved into it, is sticky with peanut butter; so it's only years of learning every variation of Tony speak that allows James to understand him as he grabs another two from the pile,"Some of us aren't heathens."  
  
James refuses to sigh as he leans back into the couch and rests his arm across Tony's shoulders, "Eat yer damn sandwiches and watch the damn game."  
  
Before half time there's nothing left but crumbs, Tony is curled up in James' arms, and James has tucked a blanket around them both.  
  
Tony twitches in his sleep, and yeah, James his gonna give him hell about the drool when he wakes up, but for now he just rubs his back until the little snot settles down. Next time Pepper goes out of town he's not waiting for Tony to ask him to come over and play.  
  
And he has some pretty sharp words for Tony's 'roommates'.  
  
Several of which exit the elevator with all the quiet decorum of a high school marching band; they are very lucky that they come to an abrupt and silent halt when they see James with an armful of sleeping genius on the couch. He glares, an expression known to make new recruits literally cry, and slowly raises his finger to his lips. They all back away, wide-eyed and carefully mute.  
  
James tightens his hold around Tony, who clutches at him with a whimper, coming halfway awake.  
  
"Shhhh. Shhhhh. It's all right, buddy. I've got your back. You just keep sleepin'."  
  
When the game ends, he turns off the television and pulls the blanket up around them. Tony stirs restlessly and James shushes him again, murmuring, "'S okay... I got you. Ain't going nowhere."  
  
James drifts off to sleep, and doesn't regret it at all when he wakes up a couple hours later to Tony mocking him, "Dude, do you need a bucket or squeegee or something? Or should I just grab my water wings?...Did you join the Olympic Drool Team and not tell me? I'm hurt."  
  
Rhodey cracks a bleary eye at him and snorts, "And what makes you think all that's mine, jackass?"  
  
Tony smiles, only Rhodey could inject that much cranky fondness into an insult, "See, there you go again; putting your-"  
  
He interrupts himself with a yawn.  
  
"Do you want help back to your room?"  
  
"What?! No. No, here's... Here's good... If it's okay with you?"  
  
Rhodey closes his eye and opens his arms, "Come here then."  
  
"Uh-uh. 'M not sleeping in the wet spot."  
  
"Oh, for the love of-" James can't help the long suffering sigh as he pulls his shirt over his head, "Just keep your hands above the waist."  
  
This is a completely different, if no less sincere, ' _or else_ '.

Tony wraps himself around Rhodey, "You're no fun at all, grumpy bear."


End file.
